


Queerer Than What Meets The Eye

by im_the_king_of_the_ocean



Series: Blue Warriors [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Asexual Character, Coming Out, F/M, LGBTQ Themes, Trans Male Character, and relationship strengthening, as well as mutual support, m/f relationships can be queer too, or in which there is a lot of discussion of identity, romantic asexuality, trans & ace Jim Lake Jr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 05:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17543987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_the_king_of_the_ocean/pseuds/im_the_king_of_the_ocean
Summary: Coming out is hard, particularly when your girlfriend is from another planet entirely.





	Queerer Than What Meets The Eye

**Author's Note:**

> This story will have three chapters. The first focuses on Jim coming out to Aja, the second on Aja contemplating and realizing she may not be completely straight either, and the third will be more fluffy to end on a merry note.
> 
> I partially based some of this on my own experiences as a queer person, but I recognize that I'm not the only one and my experiences aren't universal, so if I've depicted something inaccurately or harmfully, please let me know so I can work to correct it. The intent of this story is to be positive representation, but intent isn't everything and if it's not coming across as such, it'll need to be changed.
> 
> EDIT 2/20/19: Due to things happening in my life and time restraints, I've determined to leave this story as a oneshot since I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to it and I don't want to promise that I will without being certain.

“One ‘Secrets of Arcadia Nights’ for you.”Stuart hands off the first milkshake, a deep bluish purple one with a verifiable mountain of whip cream and rainbow sprinkles on top, to Aja.“And, for you,” he addresses Jim with a wide smile.“You, my friend, will be the first to try my newest creation!”With a flourish, Stuart puts a second milkshake down on the counter of his food truck.Rather than having a color scheme meant to reflect the night sky, this one is a silver-gray with metallic shavings on top of its whip cream mountain.“I call it, ‘Gears n’ Creme’.Though, the name is a work in progress.”Stuart watches Jim take his first sip intently.“So, what do you think?I’ve spent the past 3 nights trying to get the recipe just right.Still haven’t mastered trollish tastes, but I always do like a good challenge.”

“It’s good.”Jim smacks his lips.“Are those bits of silverware in it?”He crunches a couple such chunks.

“Yeah, I was thinking, ‘why should trolls miss out on getting to have chocolate chunks in their ice cream’?Well, milkshake, in this case.Anyway, I thought they’d be a nice touch to give you the same experience as drinking a human milkshake with chocolate chunks, but more attuned with your new, trollish tastes.”

“Thanks, Stuart.”Jim grins.“I really like it.”

“And _I_ really like the name,” Aja adds.She loops her arm through Jim’s.“Now, I must pull my boyfriend away, but we will be back later.For seconds.”

“Of course.Anything for two of my favorite customers.”Stuart waves after them.

Aja and Jim head to one of the newly built, safe-for-trolls pavilions.Once under its roof’s protective cover, Jim closes the big, yellow umbrella he uses to get around during the day and props it against the table he and Aja sit down at.

“You wanted to talk about something important?”Aja prompts.

Jim gulps.He messes with his straw.“Yes.”He looks up at Aja, and then quickly slurps more of his milkshake.It is _really_ good.He hadn’t been sure what to think when Stuart announced he was expanding his menu to incorporate some “troll-friendly” items, but, so far, he is liking the results.

“Stuart is getting really good at making milkshakes,” Jim hastily tells Aja’s expectant eyes.“Guess it was a good idea to encourage him to take in Bessie.”

“Jim.”Aja gives him her best (queenly) I’m-not-pleased-you’re-avoiding-the-subject look.She reaches out and takes his hand in her own.“You can tell me anything. _Anything_.Nothing will change the way I feel about you.Okay?”

“I…yeah.”Jim sighs.“Give me a second?”

Aja nods and squeezes his hand comfortingly.

Jim takes a deep breath.“The thing is, I’m trans.”He pauses.“And ace.”He messes with his straw, as to not have to look at Aja.“I’m trans and ace.”His words are quieter now.Sure, this isn’t the first time he’s come out, but Toby, his mom, and even Claire, had been a lot easier.

He doesn’t expect Aja to respond poorly.Not really.But she is from an entirely different planet.What if they do things differently there?What if they have some weird tradition that says you had to be the gender you were designated at birth?Or had to feel attraction a certain way and never deviate from that?

“I…” Aja begins.“I understand this is extremely important, but I don’t know what those words mean.We don’t have them on Akiridion-5.”She frowns.“Can you explain, please?I’m sorry.I want to be good at this, but I—”

“It’s okay.”Jim interrupts.“It’s alright.I don’t mind explaining.”His heart hammers, but he ignores it.He kinda wishes just saying the words was all it took, but then this isn’t the first time he’s had to explain an Earth thing to Aja.There was that time with the rollercoasters, for instance.Explaining things isn’t an unusual part of their relationship.

“Being trans, it’s…I am a boy.I know I’m a boy.”Jim sighs.“I just wasn’t always.It took me a while to figure out and then I had to transition—change myself basically—so I could be more masculine.”

“Hmm…” Aja plays with her own milkshake straw.“So, sort of like how the transduction chamber changes me and Krel to give us human appearances?But permanent?”She inquires.Jim can see her thinking, so he doesn’t answer quite yet.“Except not a disguise.”Aja continues.“Your identity and your appearance didn’t match up, so you altered the latter to reflect the former?”

“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”Jim thinks over what Aja said.He’s fairly certain she’s on the right track, but his nerves aren’t allowing him to feel too certain about anything right now.“Especially the part about not being in disguise, cause I’m not.This is _me_.”

Aja offers him a smile.“In that case, I’m glad you were able to…become yourself?That is probably an odd way of putting it.But I’m glad you’re you.”Her smile turns into a blush.“Because I like you.Very much.”

Jim can’t help but blush back.

After an awkward moment of furtive glances and milkshake sips, Jim clears his throat.“The other part is that I’m asexual.That means…”The simple answer was that he didn’t feel sexual attraction.But how to phrase that in such a way that it didn’t come across as him not being attracted to Aja?Cause he was.Definitely.Just not in the more widely accepted as normal way people felt attraction to each other.

“It means I feel things…differently.”Well, that was a start at least.“About romance, I mean.Okay, so I really like you.Like, really, really like you.But there’s this way, on Earth, though you probably have it on Akiridion too, that people generally _like_ other people.It’s called sexual attraction here.I don’t feel like that, ever, about anyone.At least I don’t think so?”Jim sighs.It is incredibly hard to pin down a part of his identity when it’s defined by the _lack_ of something and he’s regularly confused on what the parameters of that something _are_.

“I am very confused,” Aja says slowly.“So…you do like me, yes?”

“Yes,” Jim speaks firmly.That, at least, is something he can be confident in.“The thing is, there’s different types of attraction.I don’t feel the most common one for you.I don’t think you’re…” He doesn’t want to say ‘sexy’, but he feels like he kind of _has_ to say it.Except the whole point is that he just didn’t feel particularly strongly _about that_.

He loves Aja, yes.He loves spending time with her, how she can easily be enthusiastic about every new thing she encounters, the way she laughs.He wants to do so much with her, go on so many adventures.Just maybe ones that don’t involve more traditionally romantic things.Maybe that was how he could phrase it?

“I’m not interested in a lot of the things that are traditionally romantic here on Earth,” Jim lets out a breath.“But I’m still interested in you.”

“Okay, then we just won’t do those things if they make you uncomfortable?”Aja swirls her straw around in her milkshake.“I’m not sure I understand completely, but I support you.”She leans forward and places a hand over one of his.“I want to be with you, whatever we do.So, we’ll figure it out?”She offers a tentative smile.

“It’ll be an adventure.”Jim smiles back.

They finish their milkshakes and, as promised, go to Stuart for seconds.


End file.
